Are the middle classes going to bail out the rest of the country?

drc

So far it seems that all the cuts/tax rises are going to be laid squarely at the foot of the middle classes (and not everyone earning £50k per year is rich, especially if you live in London or the south-east).

I feel sorry for all those people who voted Conservative and got newLabour pt2.

Blacklight

Just wait until they unveil the local income tax.

marklv

drc wrote: »

So far it seems that all the cuts/tax rises are going to be laid squarely at the foot of the middle classes (and not everyone earning £50k per year is rich, especially if you live in London or the south-east).

I feel sorry for all those people who voted Conservative and got newLabour pt2.

It always seems like the middle class having to foot the bill - and rich always getting away with it.

tartanterra

It's no real surprise.

As is always the case, hard work and aspiration are punishable offences in this country.:(

Business as usual.

mustrum_ridcully

drc wrote: »

So far it seems that all the cuts/tax rises are going to be laid squarely at the foot of the middle classes (and not everyone earning £50k per year is rich, especially if you live in London or the south-east).

I feel sorry for all those people who voted Conservative and got newLabour pt2.

Well who else can?

People on minimum wage - not likely.

People who can afford very good accountants - not likely (how much tax did Lord Ashcroft avoid paying I wonder).

SingleSue

See, this is where I get confused, I was born middle calss, I was middle class all the way through my childhood right up until a few years ago when I had to start relying on benefits and people have been telling me I am now lower than working class....I still see myself as middle class, less well off yes but still middle class in my views.

So, what is the definition of middle class? Is it something you are from birth and upbringing? Or is it down to how much you earn? If it is down to how much you earn, then where do the middle earners who still see themselves as working class because of their beginnings come in? Or the impoverished upper classes?

ninky_2

yes it certainly looks that way. and cleggeron can pat itself on the back by saying they've reduced the wealth gap by making the middle class poorer.

given that out of the 160 billion deficit at least 60 billion is due to bailing out the banks i'd like to see what they are doing to get some pay back time from the financial sector rather than blame public spending and cutting the pay of public sector workers.

saving 15 million here or there in public service pay is nothing compared to the bank bailouts.

what has happened to the robin hood tax the lib dems were touting in their manifesto?

it seems cleggeron have dished out all the dirty jobs to the centre left to carry out whilst ring fencing and protecting the banking sector (and interests) under osborne.

ninky_2

SingleSue wrote: »

See, this is where I get confused, I was born middle calss, I was middle class all the way through my childhood right up until a few years ago when I had to start relying on benefits and people have been telling me I am now lower than working class....I still see myself as middle class, less well off yes but still middle class in my views.

So, what is the definition of middle class? Is it something you are from birth and upbringing? Or is it down to how much you earn? If it is down to how much you earn, then where do the middle earners who still see themselves as working class because of their beginnings come in? Or the impoverished upper classes?

there's economic capital and there's cultural capital. class is a very british combination of the two. and people often use it to mean different things.

it sounds as if economically you are not middle class. but culturally you probably are- - tastes and preferences etc.

marklv

mustrum_ridcully wrote: »

Well who else can?

People on minimum wage - not likely.

People who can afford very good accountants - not likely (how much tax did Lord Ashcroft avoid paying I wonder).

It depends on what you mean by 'rich'. My defintion is not restricted to the likes of Richard Branson, pop and movie stars, top footballers and lottery jackpot winners. Anyone earning above four times national average salary should be considered rich in my view - that means around the £100k a year mark.

speedbird1973

People on 50k will gain from the income tax threshold and lose it in the employee NI rise. They'll be about the same as they were before they started.

We'll ALL have to pay. No point in complaining about it we have 13 years of filth to scrub off ourselves!

You didn't notice the 2,5% drop in VAT, you probably won't notice it if it rises. Another £30 a month in direct taxation is a small price to pay to get us out of this mess quicker!

Lets not complain, lets just get on with it.

marklv

SingleSue wrote: »

See, this is where I get confused, I was born middle calss, I was middle class all the way through my childhood right up until a few years ago when I had to start relying on benefits and people have been telling me I am now lower than working class....I still see myself as middle class, less well off yes but still middle class in my views.

So, what is the definition of middle class? Is it something you are from birth and upbringing? Or is it down to how much you earn? If it is down to how much you earn, then where do the middle earners who still see themselves as working class because of their beginnings come in? Or the impoverished upper classes?

Economically, 'middle class' is purely an income related definition; socially, it's far more complex. The class concept is a 19th century one, born in a time when people like David Beckham, Michael Caine or Sir Alan Sugar could never have existed. People were born into a class and stayed there - until they died. Their children also stayed in that class. Nowadays, class has little meaning other than as an indicator of income.